I would like to work with horses again. Maybe work with dogs for sleds during winter. My husband and I have spent winters homeless, so being out in the weather would not be a huge difference. Both of us are disabled veterans, but we are willing to do as much as we can to create a new life somewhere where we can be ourselves. My husband was a marine. he has been wanting to follow in his Great Grandfather's foot steps as a Cherokee, but his own tribe tells him he has to know the name of his ancestor to be counted among them. He would like to work leather and grow trees that can be used for housing and materials for them. He would like to learn how to track and hunt in traditional ways. I have some skills in beadwork and gardening that I can put to use when not working with horses or dogs. We can make our way there, we just do not want to make the journey if we will be turned away yet again. I put in a suggestion of the horses in the posting about the electric carts, as well of my thoughts on the electric carts.

This might help many of the horses being offered up for slaughter as well.

A roof job for some jerky
Rooftopper: to brighten your day a little ( i hope) Something silly me and my little sis came up with when we were young(er). My dad who is of Lakotah hertiage took on a few too many roofing jobs in the hot sun of the south. we made up this song which came from the unlikely inspiration of the Peter Pan cartoon that she enjoyed at the time.. "What makes the red man red ...workin on the roofs all day..HUH ..workin on the roofs all day!!" His sunburned face got a smile, and thats all we cared about at the time! hope it cheers you too.

Pile up a branches fallen from the trees, all kinds of paper and everything that burns. Shape it like a semisphere. Then start depositing the layers of clay, unlike cement clay costs nothing, letting each layer dry enough so it would not slide down. It makes sense to add overlapping strips of glassfiber fabrics, all kinds of wires, pieces of used steel wool, of old chicken fences, etc in the process of applying the clay mud to make the whole thing stringer and to prevent cracks. Don't forget to leave an openings for an entrance, windows, if desired, and the hole on the top for the smoke to come out. After you have 4-8" thick layer of dry clay on top of the pile of wood, light the fire inside and keep it going until the clay burns into a brick.

Practice first with making a small dome for your dog

Here's what they successfully did in Crow Creek, the same plan was for the ROL during this summer, but there was just no money for the construction materials, no people to help either! Maybe you could organize a group of 5 people (way enough), gather some funds, contact Russell and go there to build a greenhouse. You'd be very welcome!

http://www.can-do.org/

or

www.naturescompassion.com

The keys to sustainability are foresight and affordability. I am a strong advocate for tinyhomes, that is, small living quarters/dual purpose quarters, built in production-style format that are then moved to location. Rapidly it is possible to build a very large community this way. The concern then is commoditization, or "blandness." A 90% complete, however, encourages final customization.

Now, the Lakota traditional Tipi is actually a perfect example of this. It is, simultaneously, easy to transport with simple tools, and is also a rapid to construct residence. Not saying everyone should go camping here, but we should take lessons from the existing material, figure out how it worked, why it worked, and utilize that knowledge for future purposes.

Gardening .Acorns to oaks.
Project initiated.Will follow up with pix when processed.

Another thought, if and when people start up a business or project, to try and utilize native resources for it.

Example: I have hit upon a custom garment business idea, I found a niche and I am developing the plan to attack it. Now, garments need raw materials. I went to a dear friend of mine who still has family on the Reservation (She is a Cherokee, not Lakota, mind you) to see if she knew of anyone willing and able to produce the fabric I'd need, not complex weaving, but still cloth. I don't know of anyone on Lakota to ask, sadly, and the few "Native American fabric" vendors I've sourced are Chinese weaving in what they call Native American patterns.

So, I call out for two things here. One, if you are developing a business, source out supplies from fellow natives. Two, if anyone out there is able to weave or spin and weave, let me know. (note, I am not Lakota, so I can easily imagine people being wary to deal with me)

Republic of Lakotah Villages has inspired me to look at the two tribes I'm from, and think about how we can build resilient, economically independent villages with what we already have.

Here's John Robb's definition of a Resilient Community:


And here is how I've proposed to apply that strategy to the existing villages of Klukwan and Taos Pueblo:

Resilient Villages - a rough blueprint

I don't have the political clout to enact this right now in either community, but my hope is that it will inspire others to take up the cause in these communities and across Indian Country. Developing a strategy for all of our nations to disconnect from the global economy would be a huge step toward independence.

The Rainbow Warriors are ready but many lack the funds to move and to build.

1. Whatever you build has to be ecological and self-sustainable.

2. Grow your own food.

3. What will you do if it does not rain for 200 years? Geologists now know that is how the ancient civilizations were wiped out.

4. Has Russell connected with the Eco-Living people that train people in eco-living and building at Findhorn in Scotland?

5. Are there any interest free grants from UNESCO to help the indigenous?

6. Individuals do what is called a SWOT analysis on yourselves.

Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

Then you know what you are dealing with.

As far as the projects for the Lakotah Nation, again what are your strengths? Build upon those strengths.

Strengths

1. The land, scenic, historical = Ideal for the creative industry and keeping the Spirit of creativity alive and kicking in the region. Ideal for investment for those that would like to be involved in the film industry.

2. History, if you haven't already created it. Recreate it. Recreate the whole scene as it was prior to the Europeans arriving. In Costa Rica there were only a few of the elders left, they were in their 80's and they were the only ones that the knew the traditional methods of house building of the natives. My brother helped to raise the money for the first house to be built as an example. They were planning to build eight altogether.

3. Healing and the natural ways. Healing resort. Healing Training College.

Don't concern yourselves about global economies its all collapsing.

Concentrate on local and serving your own community so that you can be self-sufficient.

Growing food in-house is also going to be important as we move closer and closer to the year 22. Remember this, if and when those ice caps go, if the nations haven't eradicated the nuclear reactors this world is in serious trouble. You have to work towards survival and prepare for the worst now. That might mean building underground bunkers, or into the mountains at least 40 metres above sea level. Stay away from any fault lines, land fractures or ley lines.